John Offord
founder and first editor of Lighting&Sound International magazine
John Offord, the founder and first editor of Lighting&Sound International magazine and a well-known figure to many in the live entertainment technology industry, has passed away after a short illness. John’s career spanned a time of rapid transformation in professional stage lighting, sound reinforcement, staging and effects. Over a 40-year period, he was a key player in developing the news and informational structure which supported the entertainment technology industry’s growing behind-the-scenes community of technicians, manufacturers and suppliers, and which lasts to this day. John was born in 1942 in Lewisham, London, the eldest of four siblings, and was destined to work in publishing. Employed at his family’s Eastbourne-based printing firm from the age of 16, he began running the business at just 19, following his father’s retirement.
In 1972 he met theatre producer Charles Vance, who was then running a repertory company at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre, and together they formed a partnership to publish the British Theatre Directory. Previously published in association with The Stage, this was a reference volume which catalogued the country’s professional theatre venues, including producers, touring circuits and key personnel.In 1985 he successfully tendered for the creation of a monthly magazine to represent the rapidly growing market served by members of PLASA (the Professional Lighting and Sound Association), a trade organisation borne out of the disco and nightclub boom of the 1970s. The magazine, Lighting&Sound International, is still published by PLASA to this day (as LSi) and recently marked its 40th anniversary.John took on the position of PLASA Chief Executive, running both Lighting&Sound International magazine and PLASA’s support office until 1997, while also helping to oversee the growth of the PLASA Show. His next publishing venture was the creation of Entertainment Technology magazine and its online home, etnow.com – both of which are still running.